3.5/5 Stars
The Expendables, namely, Barney Ross
(Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Gunner Jensen (Dolph
Lundgren), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) and Toll Road (Randy Couture), along with
the new entrant Bill the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and an able Yin Yang (Jet Li), rescue Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and a Chinese billionaire from a
dingy dungeon in Nepal. Bill expresses his desire to leave the crew and settle
down with his girlfriend in France. However, on the team’s next
mission, they are accompanied by a female mercenary Maggie (Nan Yu), at
the behest of Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) to retrieve an item from a plane that
was shot down in Albania. Bill loses his life to the antagonist Jean Vilain
(Jean-Claude Van Damme). Jean Vilain along with his right-hand man Hector
(Scott Adkins) seized the item (a computer containing a blueprint to an
abandoned Soviet Union mine which stores five tonnes of plutonium) from the
Expendables. To avenge the death of their young
team-mate and to prevent the shift in the world order, the team sets out to
travel to the mines.
Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham share
amazing chemistry in the film. The action sequences performed by them in
tandem, the harmless banter and the occasional tiffs add a lot of lustre to the
story. The cameos in 'The Expendables 2' are quite a few in numbers;
exceptional scenes involving mega stars such as Jet Li, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Bruce Willis and the incredibly funny super-human Chuck Norris. Liam Hemsworth
packs a punch in his small, yet significant role. Jean-Claude Van Damme looks
menacing as the antagonist. His final duel with Stallone is action-packed to
the hilt. The members of the supporting cast including Dolph Lundgren, Terry
Crews and Randy Couture are amazing as the rest of the team. Nan Yu stands out
as the lone female mercenary in the film. She plays a prominent role in the
storyline and does a great job in the action sequences as well. Scott Adkins
too plays an important role as the antagonist and leaves a mark. Overall, the line-up for this film is
absolutely stellar.
The film is not cinematic brilliance, but the best part is that it doesn’t even pretend to be one. Go watch, have fun! (First Posted in MSN)
Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for
what should be an easy mission, but when one of their men is killed; their
quest for revenge takes them to a mine in erstwhile Soviet Union.
Exciting action sequences, great humour,
fantastic cameos and a thrilling storyline renders ‘The Expendables 2’ better
than the first part.
The Expendables, namely, Barney Ross
(Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Gunner Jensen (Dolph
Lundgren), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) and Toll Road (Randy Couture), along with
the new entrant Bill the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and an able Yin Yang (Jet Li), rescue Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and a Chinese billionaire from a
dingy dungeon in Nepal. Bill expresses his desire to leave the crew and settle
down with his girlfriend in France. However, on the team’s next
mission, they are accompanied by a female mercenary Maggie (Nan Yu), at
the behest of Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) to retrieve an item from a plane that
was shot down in Albania. Bill loses his life to the antagonist Jean Vilain
(Jean-Claude Van Damme). Jean Vilain along with his right-hand man Hector
(Scott Adkins) seized the item (a computer containing a blueprint to an
abandoned Soviet Union mine which stores five tonnes of plutonium) from the
Expendables. To avenge the death of their young
team-mate and to prevent the shift in the world order, the team sets out to
travel to the mines.Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham share
amazing chemistry in the film. The action sequences performed by them in
tandem, the harmless banter and the occasional tiffs add a lot of lustre to the
story. The cameos in 'The Expendables 2' are quite a few in numbers;
exceptional scenes involving mega stars such as Jet Li, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Bruce Willis and the incredibly funny super-human Chuck Norris. Liam Hemsworth
packs a punch in his small, yet significant role. Jean-Claude Van Damme looks
menacing as the antagonist. His final duel with Stallone is action-packed to
the hilt. The members of the supporting cast including Dolph Lundgren, Terry
Crews and Randy Couture are amazing as the rest of the team. Nan Yu stands out
as the lone female mercenary in the film. She plays a prominent role in the
storyline and does a great job in the action sequences as well. Scott Adkins
too plays an important role as the antagonist and leaves a mark. Overall, the line-up for this film is
absolutely stellar.
The opening 15 minutes of the film display
magnificent action, a great background score, marvellous cinematography and to
top-it-up, the combined charisma of this all-star cast. Countless gun shots,
knife-fights, fist scuffles, bombings and yet, there are a few humane moments
in the film. The crisp editing and the relatively short duration (100 minutes)
serve the purpose as you don't find a lull moment at all. The film stars in
most technical departments. Be it the editing (Todd E. Miller), cinematography
(Shelly Johnson) or the music (Brian Tyler) department, the film comes up
trumps visually abled with great sound. Director Simon West amalgamates
wonderful action with a decent storyline. Turns out, this movie fares better
than the first part!
The film is not cinematic brilliance, but the best part is that it doesn’t even pretend to be one. Go watch, have fun! (First Posted in MSN)
Shivom Oza
No comments:
Post a Comment